MEMPHIS — After the first wave of media had asked Jeremiah Martin its questions and moved on to another area of the tiny visitor’s locker room inside FedExForum, Martin was asked privately about one of his freshman teammates sitting a few lockers over.

After trailing top-seeded Houston by double digits for most of the second half, after somehow holding the Cougars without a field goal over the final 9:55 of Saturday’s American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal, and after having multiple chances to tie or cut Houston’s lead to one in the final minute, fifth-seed Memphis had one last opportunity with 14.6 seconds left.

But freshman guard Tyler Harris’ 3-point attempt from the left wing clanged hard off the back of the rim. The long rebound found its way back to the 5-foot-9 Harris, but his off-balance 3-point attempt with about two seconds remaining was blocked by 6-7 Cougars sophomore Fabian White Jr., preserving a 61-58 win for No. 11...